One of Us
by superboy13
Summary: It's a very brief retelling of Superman's origin, plus how Superman has to deal with Lex, Parasite, Metallo and Cyborg. It's pretty much a blend of most Superman universes, full of allegories and reference to other media, as well.


**One of Us**

**Prologue.**

"My son, you do not remember m-"

"Jor-El! Come, something's wrong with Kal!"

Jor-El turned off the recording device, and jumped to his newborn's cradle. He rapidly checked every piece of equipment, but nothing seemed wrong. Nevertheless, Kal wouldn't stop crying.

"Lara, he is okay, he just needs a little hug, see?"

Jor-El said, as he held little Kal in his arms.He was asleep again in no time.

"Would you mind keeping an eye on him until I finish recording the message for him, Kelex?"

"On it." the robot replied.

Jor-El stepped into a crystal chamber, and couldn't get to start working on it. Another tremor had hit.

_"I'm running out of time, this is coming sooner than expected"_- he thought.

He went to the next room, where the ship was. Everything was ready, except for one thing: his message to Kal-El, and the Sunstone Crystal was still unprogrammed.

_"There's no time"_ he said to himself _"I'll have to improvise."_

"Lara, come please.". They both standed in front of the holographic recorder.

"We are Jor-El and Lara. We are your parents. By the time you see this, we've been gone for several years. Your name is Kal-El, and you are the last of your kind. You have probably discovered that you have great powers, granted by your Earth's yellow sun."

"Don't let them isolate you, Kal-El. Embrace them, and live as one of them. Don't be afraid to use them for the greater good."

"Always remember that we love you. Good bye, son."

Jor-El turned the recorder off, and placed the small, round device that came out of it inside of Kal-El's ship.

He knew there wasn't much time left, so he grabbed Kal-El, surrounded him in his red blanket, and placed him inside the ship.

"Lara, I can send you with him, I can-"

"No. My place is here with you, Jor."

They hugged as they saw Kal-El's ship leave their doomed planet.

◊◊◊

Smallville, Kansas. Some years later.

"Yay, Clark! Yay, Clark!"

"And Kent scores another one! The Crows win the State Championship!"

The crowd went mad.

"You saw that Dad? I won that game almost single-handed!"

"Clark, we need to talk."

Jonathan Kent took Clark back to the Kent farm. He never spoke a word in the whole trip. Clark was worried.

When they got there, Jonathan went to the barn, and opened the storm cellar.

"Clark, you know you have all these powers, right? Well, we've been meaning to tell you this, we just didn't know how."

Jonathan revealed Clark's ship to him.

"You gotta be kidding me."

"We... found you here. We were driving back from visiting Lana's mom in the hospital, and we saw this crash. We went to check it out, and there you were. Your mom couldn't keep her eyes off you."

Jonathan couldn't stop smiling.

"Dad, it's a ship. What am I, then? A Martian? Some kind of experiment?"

"Clark, listen to me. You're our son. We don't care where you come from, you're a man, just like me. Only… stronger."

Clark grinned.

"Although, the answers you're looking for may be here."

Jonathan showed Clark the round device. "I tried to make it work, but I couldn't. Maybe you can."

As soon as Clark touched the device, it glowed red and blue, and surrounded Clark. Jonathan's words faded and Clark suddenly appeared in front of this beautiful red sunset.

"We are Jor-El and Lara. We are your parents. By the time you see this..."

Clark just couldn't believe his eyes. He was an alien. A real alien. When the message was over, everything around him faded away.

"Earth to Clark... son, are you still with me?"

"Dad... I... I... I gotta get some air."

Clark supersped out of there and went up, up, and away. He stopped in mid-air and looked up. He stayed like that for what seemed like days, and he finally came down.

"Mom? Dad? Could you come? I have something to tell you..."

**Chapter One**

Metropolis, ten years later.

"Smallville! Fire on Main Av-"

"Onitsweetie"--- WOOSH!

"Gotta admit, I love it when you do that."

Clark smiled a few blocks away from there. As he was flying he heard the firefighters talking, he saw the entire building, the three people inside, and the ceilings that were about to collapse. Faster than a speeding bullet, he took everyone in there to safety and put the fire out.

The applauses were deafening.

"Superman! You're an angel!" a woman screamed.

"Far from it, ma'am... I just do my best." Clark smiled at her and flew away.

◊◊◊

"Mr. Luthor, Dr. Packard is here to see you."

"Send him in, Mercy."

Packard went inside. Lex was just sitting in his desk, watching him.

"Good afternoon, Mr.Luthor. How's your day?"

"To the chase, Packard. I'm a busy man."

"Sorry. Our project is coming out as planned. I-"

"MY project, doctor. You're just a tool."

"Sorry, again. Your project is coming out as planned. I just need the power source and we're ready."

"You could rebuild Corben's original cibernetic body, and you didn't have the green K in the first place?" Lex pounded his desk.

"N-No. I don't have access to it." Packard muttered.

"Imbecile! I'm Lex Luthor! I own half of this city, and you tell me that STAR Labs didn't get you clearance? Get out!"

Packard ran away like a fifth grader.

"Mercy, call the STAR director and tell him I'm on my way. Get the limo ready."

"I'm on my way, Mr. Luthor."

◊◊◊

"Nice save out there, Smallville."

"Thanks, so... did I miss anything?"

"Huh?"

"Perry's staff meeting, remember?"

"Oh, no. I just had to cover for you. Again."

"And I love you for that, Ms. Lane."

"Oh... you're not getting off that easy, big guy. You owe me a dinner this time."

"Okay. Home made?"

"Yes, but no superspeeding to Kansas and bring something Martha did. This time, you're cooking."

_"Dang."_ Clark thought.

◊◊◊

Meanwhile, a few light years away from there, a small device, that looked like a yellow metallic tennis ball, floated through space. It had a destiny, though: Earth.

**Chapter II**

Lex's limo parked in front of the STAR Labs building. Mercy opened Lex's door, and stood right beside him while he walked. Right behind them was Dr. Packard, hanging his head as if he was ashamed of something. They went inside and across the whole fancy reception. No one could believe their eyes when they saw Metropolis' second most famous citizen walking through STAR's aisles. Mercy called the elevator, and they went all the way up to the last floor.

"Mr. Luthor's here to see Dr. Klein." Mercy said.

"Does he have an appointment?" the recepcionist asked.

"Does he_ need_ one?"

"If you could wait here, I'll go ask him, Mr. Luthor."

"Hurry up, or you'll be finding a job in the morning, miss."

The recepcionist went inside of Klein's office, and came back a second later.

"Mr. Luthor, he says he's been expecting you."

Mercy opened the door, and Lex went in first. Packard went behind Mercy, and kept staring at the floor.

"_God, what have I gotten myself into?"_

"Good afternoon, Mr. Luthor... er, can I call you Lex?"

"No. I'm not here for a social visit, Dr. Klein. You have something I need, now tell me what I can do for you."

"Sorry, Mr. Luthor, I'm afraid I'm not following."

"Business, doctor. You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. You are the only entity on Earth that posseses a piece of kryptonite. Dr. Packard here is the head of the LexCorp science division, he and his team are working on a cure for the K poisoning as a... gift for Superman in the upcoming 'Superman Day'. Now you could supply it for appropiate research, and we could repay the favor."

"As noble as that sounds, I'm afraid that I promised Superman I wouldn't let that rock leave this facility. You can bring your team here, they'd be under Dr. Faulkner's supervision."

"But, Klein, see... I think it's better that my team takes it to LexCorp and works on it. After all, we wouldn't want to misplace it."

"Sorry, Mr. Luthor. The answer is no, and I'm not comfortable with your subtle threats."

"Meeting's over, Klein."

Lex turned around and took a few steps, stopped there for a second, and then he turned back to Dr. Klein.

"Oh, and Klein? You might want to lock the door when we leave."

Luthor went back to his limo, with Mercy and Packard still with him.

"What are we going to do, Mr. Luthor? Klein wouldn't give us the kryptonite, and without kryptonite, Metallo can't be activated."

"As much as I appreciate your stating the obvious, Packard, I have a contingency plan. Mercy, hand me the secure phone, and take me back to LexCorp."

Lex opened the small cell phone Mercy had taken out of a little hidden console, and text-messaged the first number on the speed dial list.

"Game on", it read.

◊◊◊

Back at the Daily Planet, Lois and Clark were sitting at their desks, polishing their latest stories. Everyone was out for lunch, except for them, Perry, who was inside his office, and Jimmy. Clark was typing at superspeed, immersed in his thoughts, when something took him by surpise:

"CK! Guess what? I have some sweet pictures of Superman's rescue from this morning. Wanna check'em out?"

"I..."

Clark heard the alarms at STAR Labs going off. He knew he had to go.

"Not now, Jimmy. Raincheck?"

"Sure. You look weird, is everything alright?."

"Nature's calling. Catch you later, Jim."

Clark left a paper note on Lois' desk and ran towards the Janitor's closet.

A second later, he was out the window, sporting his red cape.

"'STAR'… this better be good, Smallville." she thought.

"Jimmy, grab your camera! We're going out!"

◊◊◊

Superman flew at top speed, but being careful enough so he wouldn't cause a sonic boom since he was too close to Metropolis' skyscrapers. He went directly into STARS, only to find Dr. Kitty Faulkner on the floor, unconscious.

"Kitty, wake up. Are you okay?"

"Uhmmm, Superman?" Faulker had come around.

"Yes, it's me. What happened?"

"Theytookittheytookit."

"Kitty, calm down. I'm here now. What did they take?"

Faulkner pointed at the empty vault. Clark recognized the lead shielding instantly. They had taken the kryptonite.

Clark quickly checked the entire room for fingerprints, hairs, fibers... anything. But he came out empty-handed.

_"I swear, I don't know how Bruce does this."_ he said to himself.

◊◊◊

The yellow round device was still travelling. Now it was passing close to Apokolips. It came across a ship and attached to it. A few tentacle-looking wires came out of it, and went into the core of the ship.

Inside of it, the screens read: "Downloading data: HkHs.exe."

The crew members were shocked, and the captain started to try to override the command.

A few seconds later, the oxygen was out on the entire ship, killing the whole crew. One of the assistant robots inside hooked to the main console, trying to figure out what had happened. Then, it started twisting and turning, until it took humanoid form. The figure stumbled until it stopped right next to one of the crew's lifeless body, and merged with it.

"_Finally."_

**Chapter III**

Lois got off the cab first, and gave the driver two bills.

"Keep the change. Come on, Jimmy, move!"

STAR Labs entrance was blocked by a handful of cops and surrounded by yellow tape. Lois tried to go inside, but a cop stopped her.

"You don't understand, I have to go inside. Here's my credential, I work for the Daily Planet."

"Sorry, miss. No one can cross this line without proper authorization."

"Consider her authorized." Inspector Dan "Terrible" Turpin came from behind one of the cops.

Lois and Jimmy stepped into the crime scene, while Jimmy went ahead, Lois stopped, and started talking to Turpin:

"Dan, thank God, what's this all about?"

"A team of freaks broke in, left Dr. Faulkner takin' a nap, and bursted out through that window over there. They took something valuable, but we haven't figured out what yet, and the staff ain't talkin'."

"Mind if I talk to Kitty while he snaps some pictures?"

"Knock yourself out, kid."

"Thanks, Dan. Send my regards to Maisie, will you?"

"Sure, Lois."

Jimmy wandered around the place, taking some photos of the crime scene, including the empty vault. Lois approached Kitty Faulkner, who still looked shaken up.

"Kitty, it's Lois Lane. Can you tell me what happened?"

"L-Lane? What are you doing here?"

"My job?"

"Right, good point."

Faulkner told Lois what had happened, but she didn't tell her what they had taken, in spite of Lois' efforts. Lois wrote her notes down, and called Perry to let him know that she needed a space for the evening edition, and she was going back with the story and some pictures in about half an hour.

On the other side of the room, Superman was talking to Emil Hamilton. Hamilton was and old friend of Clark's, and the only scientist who knew everything that had to be known about Superman's physiology.

"Mind if talk to Superman, professor?"

"No, sure… go ahead Ms. Lane, I have to go and give my statement to Turpin, anyway."

Hamilton turned around and went over to where Turpin and his men were, leaving Lois and Superman alone.

"Clark-" Lois whispered "- what did they take?"

"Kryptonite."

"Any ideas who could have done it?"

"Well, there wasn't any leads, except for the big, broken window there…"

"But you're thinking Lex, right?"

"Mm-hm. Can I give you a lift to The Planet?"

"Sorry, I had to bring Jimmy."

"Meet you back there, then."

Clark smiled at Lois and floated up to a window, then turned the afterburners on, and he was gone in a blink.

"Jimmy, we're leaving."

"Right behind you!"

◊◊◊

In the meantime, at LexCorp's underground labs, Dr. Packard was doing some last minute tweaking to John Corben's upgraded body. Luthor was right behind him, watching the whole thing.

"Vale's original design was completely amazing. Fortunately, I was able to rebuild most of it, and even imporve on it with the new technology we-

"I."

"-you, acquired from Brainiac, a couple of years ago. This new Metallo should be able to defeat Superman, according to my estimations."

"I don't care about estimations, doctor. I care about results."

"And you will have them, Mr. Luthor."

Packard grabbed the piece of kryptonite and inserted it into Metallo's chest. His eyes started glowing green. Metallo stood up, and jumped over Lex, but he stopped in mid-air, and fell to the floor, twisting.

"Johnny, Johnny, Johnny… you really thought I'd bring you back, without putting some kind of failsafe in there? I'm insulted."

"W-What do you want, Luthor?"

"Superman's head."

"You make it sound easy."

"Because now it is. See, I've made you better. You're now able to absorb technology, any kind."

"I want a kryptonite cannon."

"And I want a ponytail. Disappointment abounds. Now, let's wake up your partner, and talk about Superman, shall we?"

"Partner?"

Lex filled Metallo in, told him about his plan to take on Superman and the identity of his partner, and offered him the chance to have his brain put into a human body again, if he was able to take Superman down.

"Deal."

◊◊◊

"You've outdone yourself, Smallville… this pizza is delicious." Lois said, almost sarcastically.

"Well, it is home made, wasn't that the deal, honey?"

"You better not have gone to Italy this time."

"No. And Lois, I never lie."

"Cute. But fool me once, shame on you… fool me twice…"

"No one could ever fool you twice."

Lois smiled.

After they were done, Lois went outside to take out the trash, while Clark was washing the dishes at superspeed. The TV was on behind him, set to the news channel.

"This is Catherine Grant, for WGBS News. We have last minute information, apparently a cyborg-looking creature is wreaking havoc in the Hypersector, and is demanding Superman to show up. The Special Crimes Unit is on its way, but…"

"_How did I __**not**__ hear this?"_ Clark thought to himself.

Lois came back from outside, and saw the look on Clark's face.

"Clark, what's wrong?"

"Big trouble in the Hypersector. Don't go. This is a job for Superman."

"Never stopped me, and God… that's so cliché!."

Clark kissed Lois on the cheek, and turned around. He had his suit on and flew out the window before she could even notice.

◊◊◊

Meanwhile, in outter space, something else was happening. The ship was moving towards Earth, and had become undetectable to any kind of man-made device. When it reached Earth's orbit, a small pod came out of it and flew directly to the middle of the American continent. As soon as the pod landed, it split in halves, and a human-like figure stepped from inside. It was around 6'3'', with broad shoulders, and long, dark hair.

"Kal-El. It is time you face your destiny."

**Chapter IV**

Clark soared the sky heading for the Hypersector. Using his Telescopic Vision, he checked the whole area, until he saw the humanoid figure near the new LexCom Building.

"_Okay, now I know where that Kryptonite went. I better be careful."_

He stopped where the SCU was getting ready to strike. Cap. Maggie Sawyer was standing there, watching him gracefully land.

"Nice entrance, but you're sitting out on this one, Blue. I'm guessing he has the kryptonite, so you stand back, my team will handle this."

"You know I won't, Maggie. Be ready, if I fail, take him down. Hard."

Superman grinned and supersped away from there, right into the battlefield. He rapidly grabbed a lead pole that had went down a few minutes ago, and held it like it was a baseball bat.

Metallo was a few feet away from him, he had a car in his hands, and was about to hurl it across the street.

"Corben, enough. You have my attention now."

"Took you pretty lon-"

BAM! Clark hit Metallo on the stomach, throwing him against a wall. He knew he couldn't let him get up, and he had already started to feel the kryptonite's effects, even though he was pretty far away, and it was encased inside Corben's metallic chest.

Superman kept hitting Metallo with the pole time and time again, hoping that he wouldn't get up. Suddenly, Metallo stopped the "bat" with his forearm and sent Superman flying across the street with one punch.

"You're feeling it, aren't you?" Metallo said.

Clark placed his hands on a car that was parked right next to him, and tackled Metallo with it. He quickly flew a few feet away from him, who was laying still under the wrecked car.

"_I can't hear the SCU's heartbeats anymore… __You better finish this right now, Clark, before he gains the upper hand."_ he thought.

Then, from the shadows, a big, purple monster grabbed Superman's face, covering his eyes. He couldn't move, and all he could feel was this crushing, exhausting pain all over his body.

"Guess who, Superdumb?!" the monster said.

"_Rudy, that was lame."_ replied the other voice inside his head.

"_P-Parasite… no… not now."_ Superman thought.

He couldn't even stand up, and he felt how the Parasite was draining the energy he had left. One thing was certain, if this continued, he would be dead in a matter of minutes. Again.

Superman let a scream of agony out, as he hit the Parasite on the chin with the back of his head, twice. As soon as he let go, Superman punched him in the chest, causing him to land inside of a nearby building.

"_Come on, Clark… stay conscious. Sunlight, I need sun-"_

Before he could even finish that sentence, he felt a striking pain on the back of his head, and fell to the floor, unconscious. Metallo had absorbed the car, and now there he was. Bigger, meaner, and hitting Superman with all he had.

Parasite came around, and went where Metallo was. They both started hitting Superman, who was passed out and helpless.

"And now, before the curtains close…" Metallo said as he opened his chest, revealing the shining chunk of kryptonite.

Parasite took Superman's motionless body by the head, and held his face an inch away from the green K. While the kryptonite drained away Superman's powers, and took the life out of him, Parasite was doing the exact same thing using his abilities.

Out of nowhere, a mysterious beam hit the Parasite on the chest, forcing him to let Superman go, and made him hit the floor.

"John Corben, this is Cap. Maggie Sawyer. Step away from Superman, now!"

Metallo grabbed Sawyer's weapon and merged with it. Now he had this huge cannon over his shoulder. The entire SCU crew started shooting at Metallo, hoping that maybe it was enough to take him down. When the smoke cleared, he was still standing there. He was ready to strike back, but then, Parasite woke up, and stood before Metallo and the Special Crimes Unit.

"Our job here is done, Corben. Let's go back, and get our payment."

Parasite lifted what was left of a newstand, and threw it to the SCU. They vaporized it before it even had the chance to hit the floor, but the villains were gone.

Sawyer quickly went where Superman was laying down, and put her ear close to Clark's mouth

"He's still breathing, but barely… Medic, get over here, now!"

◊◊◊

Meanwhile, far away from there, the half-man, half-machine figure was exploring the area, wondering where he was. He saw a phone booth across the street and thought about hacking into it, in order to find out his whereabouts. Right then, a teenager stopped in front of him.

"Where am I?"

"Perdón, no hablo Inglés…"

"Dammit punk… where is here? I need to go to America! Superman, I demand Superman!"

"Ah, ¿Supermán?" the kid recognized that sound right away " Claro… hacia allá, al norte." he said, as he pointed up north.

◊◊◊

_clap, clap, c__lap_

"Good job, gentlemen." Luthor said, without taking his eyes off the screen where Superman was shown laying down.

"They are taking him to Metropolis General Hospital, but they say he didn't have a pulse." Mercy added.

"We kept our part of the bargain, Luthor. I want my new body."

"Yes, and I want that unlimited power source you promised!"

Lex looked at them, and then turned back to face the screen.

"Of course. Corben, Dr. Packard is waiting for you inside Lab 13, Mercy will take you there. He will deactivate you, and then transfer your sick, twisted brain into a human body. As for you, Rudy, we are still waiting for the final adjustments on your payment. If you could sit there and wait for Dr. Teng to show up, please."

Mercy escorted Metallo to Lab 13, where Packard was waiting for him.

"Now, please, Mr. Corben, if you could lay here and open your chest."

"I wanna see my body, doc. You're not touching me until I see my new body."

Packard opened a curatin, revealing what looked like a tank, but had a human being inside, hookep up to many wires, and with a breathing mask on.

"That's you, Mr. Corben. Or that will be you, once we're through with this."

Metallo laid back, and opened his chest. Packard took the kryptonite out, and stored it in a lead vault behind him. He turned around and hit the intercomm button.

"We're done, Mr. Luthor. They can come and pick up Metallo whenever they want. Corben fell for it."

"Of course he did."

Rudy Jones was still sitting there, talking to himself while he waited for Dr. Teng. Lex took a remote control out from his pocket and showed it to him.

"Sweet dreams, Rudy."

"Luthor, you-"

Parasite was out before he knew it. The chair he was sitting down on released an electric pulse specifically designed to stun him, and knock him out.

"Dr. Teng, please, sedate him and put him back in his containment cell."

**Chapter V**

The paramedics were about to put Superman inside the ambulance, when a black and red blur passed by them, and suddenly, Superman was gone.

"Thanks, Conner." Lois said. "How is he?"

"Don't mention it, I got down here as soon as I could, but it wasn't soon enough. He's still breathing, but we need to help him, any ideas?"

"Sunlight."

"It's amost midnight, how do we get sunlight? South America? Australia, where?"

"No, we're going to Smallville. You get Clark's stuff, I'll handle the rest."

Conner Kent, AKA Superboy, packed a few of Clark's clothes in a blink of an eye, while Lois put her stuff inside the car. Clark was laying unconscious on the backseat, his eyebrow had stopped bleeding, which meant he was healing.

A minute later, Superboy was lifting the car and headed for Smallville.

"Passengers, please fasten your seatbelts. We may experience some turbulence if the captain spots some hot chick from up here."

Inside the car, Lois was holding Clark's head. His Superman outfit was devastated, except for his cape, which was made out of his baby blanket and was as indestructible as he was.

"Hang on, Clark, we'll be there in no time."

Superboy landed the car right next to the Kent's barn. It was around midnight, but the Kents were up, waiting for their son.

"Lois, are you okay?" Martha asked.

"Yes, Martha, I'm okay. It's him I'm worried about."

"Clark will be fine, he always is… right? He's Superman." Conner asked.

"Conner, could you give me hand here, we'll take him upstairs to his old room."

Jonathan was already trying to take Clark out of the car, but 225 pounds were too much for him, specially given his heart condition. Kon supersped in front of him, took Clark by the waist and carried him on his shoulder.

"Don't you mean my room?"

"Yes, let's go."

Jonathan and Conner took Clark upstairs and placed him on his bed. He looked peaceful, and his wounds appeared to be healed. They had already put another bed next to his, for Lois. She went upstairs a couple of minutes later, and laid beside him. She gave her a kiss on the forehead and closed her eyes, hoping that she could get some rest.

"_Tomorrow's gonna be a long day."_ she thought before giving in and falling asleep.

◊◊◊

"This is Catherine Grant, for WGBS News. We've been informed that Superman has gone missing, and it is unknown whether he survived the attack earlier today or not-"

Lex turned the TV off. Could he really be gone? He came back once, after the Doomsday battle. But this time, he, Alexander Joseph Luthor, had been the cause of Superman's demise. He couldn't have failed.

Superman had been a thorn on his side since the very first day he appeared. He had ruined his sabotage to the Prometheus Space Station, and then humilliated him in his own house_. "Oh, and Luthor? One more thing… if you ever need to find me, all you have to do is look up."_ Those were words he would never forget for the rest of his life. Every time he remember it, it fueled his hatred for the alien even more. Even now he was thinking about it, and even though Superman seemed to be gone, it still got to him.

_"Let it go, Lex. You've won."_ he said to himself.

"Mercy, prepare the limo, we're celebrating tonight."

"What's the occasion?"  
"The Death of Superman."

◊◊◊

A few hours later, in Smallville, Lois had woken up only to find that Clark wasn't in his bed. She ran downstairs and found Conner snoozing on the couch, with only his underwear on. She grabbed Clark's cape and threw it aiming at Conner's crotch, covering her eyes.

"_My God, Conner…"_

She searched the whole house, but there was no clue of where Clark, Martha and Jonathan were. Then, she went outside, and found Clark leaning on the fence, watching the sunrise.

"Some view, huh?" she said, while putting her arms around his neck

"Sorry I didn't let you know I was up, I thought you needed the rest."

"Nah, I'm glad you're at 100 percent again, Smallville."

"Actually…"

Before Clark could keep on talking, the old Kent truck arrived.

"Clark! Lois! Conner! Breakfast!" Jonathan yelled.

Conner got there first, and started eating right away. Clark and Lois went inside, and they sat at the table next to Jonathan and Martha.

"So, you didn't need much sunlight after all, huh big guy?" Conner said, with a mouth full of Cheerios.  
"Conner, don't do that, it's disgunting."

"She's right. And, besides, I'm not so sure I don't need the sunlight."

"What do you mean, son?" Jonathan asked.

"Well… my powers are gone."

"What?!"

"Yes, gone. Poof. I'm a regular joe. I woke up this morning and tried to avoid waking up Lois, so I ended up thumping my toe against the bed and I cried like a baby. I mean, not literally but I-"

"Clark, Clark, Clark… focus. So you're saying you don't have your powers at all? Not even at 10?"

"No, Lois. Zip, cero, nada."

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Sorry, guys, it's the Teen Titan's communicator. I'll be back in a jiff."

"Put some pants on, honey!" Martha yelled while Conner supersped out the window.

"Please, Ma, tell me that I wasn't like that at 19."

"No, you had your pants on… most of the times."

Clark blushed a little, and Lois couldn't help but giggle at Martha's remark.

"So, back on topic. What are we going to do? You can't be super every day of your life, and then suddenly one day… poof! You're human."

"We'll deal with that after we get back to Metropolis, dad. I'll go to STAR, maybe they can tell me what happened."

"What about Bruce? He could help." said Martha.

"He's working on a Joker case, and you know how he gets when it comes to the Joker. We'll try STAR, if not, then Bruce."

Suddenly, a gust of wind came from the window. Conner was back and he stood next to Clark. He told them that the Teen Titans needed him, and it was important. The Brotherhood of Evil had taken Raven and they needed the whole team for the rescue operation.

"Can I help, Conner?"

"Yes, by getting better. We'll handle this. Can I drop you off in Metropolis before leaving?"

Clark nodded. Conner turned around and packed everything and put it inside the car in no time. Lois said goodbye to the Kents and went to the car, where Conner was sit on the hood, waiting. Clark kissed Martha on the cheek and gave Jonathan a tough, manly hug and then turned around and headed for the car.

"Clark, before you leave… I have a present for you. Hopefully, you'll need it."

Martha gave him a bag where a new Supersuit was, like the many others she had made for him.

"Thanks, Ma. 'Bye."

When they were settled in, Superboy lifted the car and flew away. In a couple of minutes, the Kents couldn't see them anymore.

_"Take care, Clark."_ Jonathan thought.

◊◊◊

"Chief, any news from Clark or Lois?"

"No, Jimmy… but I'm starting to worry… Lane hasn't missed a day since THAT day."

"Do you think Superman is really…?"

"Let's hope not. But we need something for the morning edition about yesterday."

Riiiing. Riiiiiing. Riiiing.

"Perry White… Oh, Lois, thank God… Mmm, hm…. I see… Clark's okay, then?... Oh… okay, I'll send Jimmy and let Copy know… okay, take care, girl."

Perry hung up the phone, and turned around to face Jimmy, who was clueless about what was going on.

"Jimmy, I need you to go down to the Kent's place and get Lois' article on yesterday's fight in the Hypersector. She has it ready, but she can't come. Clark got hit by some debris, and she needs to look after him for the rest of the day. Okay?"

"On it, chief."

"Jimmy: Don't. Call. Me. Chief. EVER. AGAIN. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, Perry."

Jimmy left the DP building and walked a couple of blocks to take the subway. He remembered when Superman had died, a few years back. The pain they went through. The confusion. The four supermen.

"_Snap out of it, Olsen. He'll be back."_

**Chapter VI**

"No, Diana, everything's alright… he's just… normal. Can you tell everyone that he's okay, please?... Thanks-"

buzzzzzzz

"Yes?"

"It's Jimmy."

"Come on up."

"Look, Diana, I gotta go. He'll be in touch, ok?... 'Bye."

Lois was sitting at the table, drinking coffee and finishing the last touch-ups to her article on her laptop when Princess Diana of Themyscira, best known as Wonder Woman, called to check up on Clark. In the meantime, the former Man of Steel was lifting weights, in the next room.

"_I can't believe this-" _he thought_ "-it used to took me this much effort to move a small mountain…"_

Lois opened the door and let Jimmy in, who sat down on the armchair, next to a coffee table. He asked about what had happened with Superman, to which she replied that she had no idea, but would find out. Lois handed Jimmy the CD where she had burned her text file with the article, and also gave him an envelope.

"The CD is for Copy, and the envelope has the written version, for Perry."

"Okay. I still don't understand why you couldn't have sent it by e-mail."  
"Perry's paranoia about it leaking, or something." Lois said.

"Great, I'll get this to the Planet right away. So, where's CK?"

Clark came out from the other room, all sweaty and with his glasses on.

"Hey Jim. I didn't hear you coming in."

"Looks like you're feeling better, huh?"

Lois gave Clark a look. _The_ look. He knew what it meant.

"Yeah, well… the… uhmm, doctor said that it wasn't that bad, but I shouldn't go back to work just yet."

"Okay, I understand. Everyone needs a little vacation from time to time." Jimmy said, while giving Clark a wink.

Clark gave a dorky, "guilty as charged" smile and went to the bedroom.

"I'm leaving, guys… Perry will flip out if I don't get this on time, see you later."

As soon as Jimmy left the apartment, Lois went straight to the bedroom, where Clark was.

"Nice, Smallville. Now I'm a liar, and you're a slacker who misses work but stays at home exercising."

"Sorry, Lois. I'm just used to know what's happening around me. I know if someone comes in, or not. I know when you're a mile away or next to me. This is harder than you think."

Lois leaned over Clark and rested her head on his shoulder.

"So, any word from STAR?"

"I spoke to Ham a while ago, he told me that I should go right away, but I haven't figured out whether Superman should take a cab, or what."

"Good point. Why don't you go as Superman, but without your suit, just plain clothes? No one's gonna recognize you on the street as neither Clark nor Superman, don't you think?"

"Tell me why aren't you Batman's sidekick again? He could use a brain like yours."

"Caves freak me out."

"Ha, ha... Right"- Clark said while laughing "-I'm going to STAR, then I'll go to the Planet, meet you there?"

"Sure."

◊◊◊

In the CEO office, on the top floor of the LexCorp Building, Lex Luthor was still celebrating to the news of Superman gone missing.

"With the alien gone, I will be able to control the organized crime of this city again. The Mob will answer to me, and I'll be in full control of this city, legally and otherwise. I will rebuild Intergang as it once was, but cut loose the connections they had with Apokolips, that can only mean bad news. I'll need to get in touch with Edge, and find a way to take over where he left off."

Lex turned around, smiling.

"Mercy, arrange a meeting with Mr. Morgan Edge, will you? I need to meet with him ASAP."

"Of course. Mr. Luthor, you do remember that you have to assist to the new charity foundation opening in half an hour, right?"

"Yes. Tell Mr. Edge to meet me there, we'll talk later."

◊◊◊

Kal-El stepped out of the cab and paid the driver. It was weird for him to be in plain clothes, but without glasses on. He felt good, like back in Smallville. He had a flannel shirt on, and a pair of jeans. His hair was all shaggy, unlike every other day. He went inside STAR Labs and walked directly to the desk.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, I'm here to see Professor Emil Hamilton. He's expecting me."

"Name, sir?"

"Ralph." Clark had already told Professor Hamilton that he would be going under a fake name.

"Please, sit down over there, he'll be here in a second."

Clark sat down and grabbed the latest issue of Newstime. He was about to read an article about an affair between an actor and a big producer's wife, when Hamilton showed up.

"Ralph… hi. 'Kay… we're gonna go up to my lab so we can determine what's wrong, shall we?"

"Hi… uh, sure… let's go."

They went inside the elevator, and remained silent until the 13th floor, when it stopped. Hamilton and Clark went inside the secured lab, and they sat down at Ham's desk.

"So… if you don't mind my asking, why Ralph?"  
"I don't know, it was the first name that popped into my head, I guess."

"Okay, enough chit-chat. So, you don't have any of your abilities, right Kal?"

"None. I'm a regular man, doc."

"I see… you tried sunbathing, right?"  
"Yeah, and I ended up like I went on vacation to Cancun, but no powers."

"Okay. I'm guessing your DNA wasn't altered, since this was caused by K exposure, plus Parasite-caused drain of vital energy. We'll do the following: we'll irradiate you with pure solar energy. You won't get tanned because it won't be sunlight per se, just the energy your body is supposed to absorb."

"Is there any kind of risk?"  
"No, not really. If that doesn't work, we'll keep trying over and over again. You know as well as I do that the world needs a Superman."

They both stood up, then. Clark stripped, leaving only his underwear on, and went inside a small containment cell, and laid on a metallic gurney. On the outside of the cell, Hamilton calibrated the machine, and waited for it to power up.

"Ready when you are, Ham."

"In theory, this should be painless, Kal. If you feel anything, I can stop it at any time, so let me know, okay?"

Clark nodded.

The cannon-looking device placed itself over Clark's chest, and started making a screeching noise. Clark swallowed hard and closed his eyes to the blinding light that had just came out of it. An intense beam of raw solar energy came out and struck Clark on the chest. Though Hamilton said that it should be a painless procedure, Clark felt as if his organs were melting. The pain was excruciating, but he didn't say a word. He knew this had to work, and they couldn't stop no matter what. His body was shaking, and he was biting his tongue to avoid screaming. The procedure was supposed to last only thirty seconds, but it felt like a lifetime to him. Finally, the machine stopped and it turned itself off. Ham went inside to check on Clark, who was laying still.

"So, how do you feel?"

"I'm… perfect. This may have just worked."

He, in fact, didn't feel any pain at all. All the agony he went through seconds ago was gone.

"Okay –" said Hamilton "- let's test it. Lift the gurney."

Clark placed both hands under the metallic bed and pulled up. Nothing. His strength had not improved at all.

"Nada, huh? Hmmm, maybe your strength demands too much energy. What about your sight? Or your hearing?"

Clark closed his eyes, and focused on listening beyond what was humanly possible. Still nothing. He opened his eyes and sighed.

"Sorry, Ham. Another dead end."

"No, I'm sorry, Kal. I can run a few tests and we could-"

"Not now. I gotta go now, but I can come back later and we'll focus on this, okay?"

"Sure, anytime. Just let me know when 'Ralph' is on his way."

"Great, thanks a lot."

Clark got dressed and headed out for the Planet, where Lois was waiting for him.

◊◊◊

A black and blue streak passed through the sky and landed on what once was Coast City. The mysterious figure wandered around the place, as if he had been there before. He walked around for a few minutes, until he found the monument that Superman had built a few years ago. Suddenly, his right shoulder started twisting and turning until it became some sort of missile-launcher-looking weapon. He aimed, and shot a beam to the weak point of the structure, and the whole monument crumbled. He stood there, laughing.

_"Prepare yourself, alien. You will finally die once and for all. Because as of right now the Cyborg is back."_

**Chapter VII**

The newsroom hadn't been like that since Superman had come back, a few years ago. Everyone was coming and going, trying to figure out where he was, and if he was still alive. It was a fruitless pursuit, though, because the Pulitzer-awarded writing team, Lane-Kent, were already on it. And, they had a little advantage over anybody else.

"After picking up Superman, the four paramedics-"

"Three."

"Clark, I think I know how many paramedics were there, and you were out."

"I could see them, I wasn't completely out. There were three."

"Okay, we'll go with three." Lois said, blowing the hair off her face.

The duo kept on writing the story when Perry came out of his office.

"Everyone, please, I need you attention."

…

"Please, people if you could just…"

…

"THE PLANET'S CLOSING, YOU'RE ALL FIRED!!"

Everyone stopped right there and looked at Perry.

"Now that I have your undivided attention… We have last minute information that the Coast City monument was destroyed a few minutes ago. The JLA is on site. Lane, take Olsen and you both go over there and bring me back front page material, the chopper's waiting on the roof. Break is over, everyone go back to work!"

Lois turned to face Clark, who looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"Lois, you can't go… it's too dangerous."

"Please, Clark… I'll be okay. Your super-friends are there, it's gonna be fine. Look, I will be back first thing in the morning, okay? You just finish this story about your dissapearance, and hand it to Perry."

"Okay, but I'll let Bruce know you're on your way there, I'll tell him to assign Diana, or John Stewart as your escort."

"Clark, I don't need a Green Lantern or an Amazon Princess to watch out for me, whoever did it may not be still there. We'll keep in touch, okay?"

Lois kissed Clark and walked to the elevator.

"Remember Smallville, we're sharing by-line on this article, don't mess it up."

Clark gave a faint smile and lowered his head. He sat back on his desk, tried to focus on the article, but he just couldn't write a word.

"Okay, Kent. Enough is enough, you're worring way too much. Lois is gonna be just fine, but you need to finish this article."

He pushed his glasses up with his middle finger, and started typing. It was much slower than what he was used to, and his fingers went numb after a while. His neck was aching, and so was his back. He stood up, stretched a bit, and headed for the coffee machine. A few minutes later, he had the article finished. After printing it out and handing it in to Perry, he asked him if he could take the rest of the day off.

"Sure, Clark. Are you feeling okay?"  
"I've been better."

"Go, we'll talk tomorrow if you're feeling better."

Clark left the office and went downstairs. As he walked the streets, he felt completely isolated. He felt deaf and blind, though he could hear and see perfectly, for a regular man. After a few blocks, he stopped to catch his breath, and took a cab home.

◊◊◊

A few block away from there, Lex Luthor was hosting the opening of his latest charity foundation. Everyone who was someone in Metropolis was there. Mayor Berkowitz arrived there, shook Lex's hand and thanked him for all the good he had brought to Metropolis. Lex smiled and gave Berkowitz a pat on the back. When he turned around, Morgan Edge, the owner of Galaxy Communications and former Intergang boss, was waiting for him.

"Lex, it's been a while."

"It certainly has, Morgan. How is business?"

"Good enough. How is LexCorp?"  
"Perfect, as always."

"So, are you going to tell me what this is all about?"  
"What else, Morgan? Business. But we can't talk here. Let's go back to LexCorp, we'll talk this over a few drinks."

"I'm not going anywhere, Lex. Not until I know what I'm getting myself into."

"Partnership. Intergang." Lex said, practically whispering.

"Interesting, to say the least. Martinis?"

"I'll have Mercy get the limo ready."

Lex turned his head and whispered something to Mercy. She nodded and went outside. He wrapped the opening ceremony up as quickly as he could, and left the place with Edge.

◊◊◊

The sky was clear, and the sun was intense. Lois and Jimmy prayed for this story to be good, or they would have to go back to the Planet empty-handed and virutally suffocated. Jimmy was cleaning the lens on his camera, while Lois was counting how many birds had already passed them by. Suddenly, a black and blue figure flew right pass them. She didn't got to see what it was, but Jimmy had snapped a picture of it, though all they could see was a blur.

"Do you think you can enhance this back at the Planet, Jim?"  
"Hmmm, I'm not the Super-sidekick-who-can-do-everything-on-a-computer type, but I'll give it a shot."

"Great."

Lois had the feeling that the black and blue figure was somehow connected to what happened on Coast City, but had to wait until they were back at the Daily Planet to actually have a chance to figure it out.

They were only a few minutes away from there, but they could see the smoke from the burning structure from up there. There was also a big, green, glowing machine moving the debris. She started thinking what she'd say to them when they started asking her about Clark. Lois shook her head and leaned back on her seat.

_"I hope they are gone by the time we get there…"_ she thought.

**Chapter VIII**

The elevator opened up and Clark stepped out of it, rubbing his neck with his right hand. He walked to his apartment's door, and took the keys out of his pocket. He opened the door, went inside and turned the lights on.

He knew he had to work out, keep himself in shape, but he just didn't feel like it. Work without endless stamina was too tiring. He sat on the floor, next to the couch, and started throwing a baseball against the wall. It kept hitting the wall, the floor, and then again into Clark's hand. After about half an hour of this, Clark stood up and went to his bedroom. He opened the wardrobe, and took out his Superman suit from a hidden drawer.

The suit was there, on the bed, and Clark did nothing but stare at it for what felt like days. He didn't knew if he could ever go back to being Superman, and that scared him to death. He felt like he had a responsibility to do the right thing. But why? He didn't have any powers now. But was that the reason he was doing it? Did those great powers gave him the responsibility to help others? No. It was how we was raised. He had been taught to always do the right thing. He had travelled around the world and seen all the evil, all that was wrong. He wanted to fix it, but he wasn't out there to be the world's savior, or some kind of god-sent figure who was supposed to lead those who were beneath him. He was just another one of us, doing the right thing with what he had. And it didn't have to stop. It wouldn't stop. He wasn't able to bend steel with his bare hands, or able to change the course of mighty rivers. Not anymore. But he could still make a difference. That's all that mattered. He was still Clark Kent. The guy under the tights and the cape. He had the power of the press. That was more powerful than a locomotive, too. He could still serve justice without his cape.

His face was glowing again. He felt this… joy, he wasn't saddened by his loss, he was embracing it, and accepting to move on, and keep his neverending battle going, he'd just… change tactics.

In that moment, Clark Joseph Kent felt alive again. He got up and called Lois' cellphone… it rang several times, but she didn't pick up.

"You've reached Lois Lane's cellphone. If you're calling about Superman, leave a message."

"_God, she hasn't changed her greeting since we met."_

beep

"Lois, it's me. I just wanted to check on you, but maybe you're out of battery, or signal or something. I'll cal you back."

Clark hung up the phone and went to his bedroom. He put sweats on, and a pair of sneakers. He decided he was going out for a jog, to clear his head.

◊◊◊

"So, Lex, what are we talking about? You mentioned Intergang, you're planning on bringing it back?"

"Yes. But this time, I'll be in charge of it. Sorry "we" are going to be."

"Sounds good, but why do you need me?"  
"You were the former head of Intergang. You know everyone who was once involved. Your connections will come in handy."

"You mean my… otherwordly connections?"

"No, no… I can't trust anyone who claims to be a god and walks around wearing a skirt, no… we're keeping this Earth-bound for the time being. I'm talking about your connections here."

Morgan Edge sat there, looking at his shoes for a minute. Then, he raised his head and looked at Lex right in the eyes, which was very unlikely to happen. Most people were afraid of even talking to him.

"So, basically, I'm going to be your puppet. I do the deals, I make the connections, and if anything goes wrong, I'm the face of the Intergang boss, aren't I?"

"Yes. But with Superman out of the picture and my legal influences, how likely is that really?"  
"You raise a good point, Lex… so, what's in it for me? 50-50?"  
"70-30."

"Not good enough. My butt's gonna be the one on the line."

Lex stood up, holding his glass of scotch in his right hand, turned around and stared at the Big Appricot's skyline from his massive window.

"Look, Edge. I own most of this city. I can find any other mentally challenged crime lord, and make him my puppet. In that case, he'd have 15 of the total, but since I'm Lex Luthor, he wouldn't even question it. Now, I'm offering you twice that amount. If you try to bring Intergang back on your own, I'll put you down, so what's it gonna be?"

Edge, for the first time since he could remember, was speechless. If he said "no", he'd be missing out on a great chance, but if he said "yes" and then everything went wrong, it'd be his end. He twiddled his thumbs for about ten seconds, and then spoke:

"Okay. 70-30. But I'll have full-access to every "project"."

"Deal."

Lex raised his hand where the scotch was.

"To Intergang?"

"To Intergang."

◊◊◊

"Damn, my battery's dead."

"Did you need your phone, Lois? You can use mine…"

"No, thanks Jimmy. I was just checking if Clark had called, or sent a text-message, or something."

"You're worried about him? I thought it was just a few scratches."  
"Yes, but you know Clark…"

"It's like he has the whole weight of the world on his shoulders."

"Tell me about it, Jim."

Suddenly, the chopper stopped in mid-air. Both Lois and Jimmy had their seatbelts on, but the pilot went flying out the window. Before he hit the ground, a heat-vision-like beam vanished him. Lois was terryfied, and Jimmy had passed out after slamming his head against the front seat.

"Ms. Lane, isn't it?"

Lois' face was pale, filled with horror.

"H-Henkshaw."

"I'm flattered you recognized me. We only met once… way back then, I can't even remember how anymore."

"Way back then, when you tried to destroy Earth by getting it out of orbit after you posed as Superman for months, while he was presumed dead. Ringing any bells?"

"You've got a big mouth, Lane, but I need you alive. As bait."

The Cyborg lowered the chopper until it hit ground, and filled the cabin with a strange, green gas. Before she could even cough, Lois was out.

"Sweet dreams, Lane."

◊◊◊

After jogging for half an hour, Clark was exhausted.

"Phew… last… time… I was this tired was when I… I think I was in elementary school, or something… phew…"

He stopped right in front of STAR Labs. He took his glasses of, and ran his fingers through his head. He went inside, and asked for Dr. Hamilton again.

"Ralph, right?" the young receptionist said, smiling at him.

Clark blushed and nodded.

"Does Ralph have a last name? Or a… phone number?"

"Errr… Newbern. And no, no phone number, sorry" he said, blushing even more.

"Too bad-" she said "-I'll call him right away, and he'll be here, please wait for him over there"

Clark sat there, and stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, until Hamilton arrived.

"Ralph, hi."

"Hi, Ham, so… any new ideas?"

"Let's talk about this up in the lab, okay?"

The two men went to the lab again. Clark sat on the gurney, and Hamilton stood there, talking.

"Kal, I've been thinking. Maybe only one jolt of solar energy is not enough. I've been over the data from the last time you were here, and your body actually rejected most of the beams. Now, I know for a fact that your body chemistry hasn't been compromised, so it is unusual that you're not absorbing the energy."

"So what could be the cause?"

Hamilton paused for a second, and looked at him. He cleared his throat, and pushed his glasses up, just like Clark does all the time.

"I think it's you, Kal. My theory is that you're uncounsciously repelling them."

"That's impossible, Ham. I need my powers back, you said it yourself, the world needs Superman."

"I know, but do you still want to be him?"

"Yes. And I'll do whatever it takes to bring him back."

"Okay, then let's get started… ready for another solar session?"  
"Bring it on."

◊◊◊

Across the country, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane were laying on an old abandoned warehouse's floor. The helicopter was right next to them, in pieces. A lot of the equipment was missing, though. Hank Henshaw then came out of the shadows. He had a different look than before… less mechanic. He looked more organic, but still made out of metal.

Lois then opened her eyes and saw him. She sat up, but couldn't stand because her ankles and wrists were tied. Jimmy was still out, but Lois hit him twice with her elbow, until he came around.

"NNghhh… Lois? What happened?"

"The Cyborg, Jimmy. He's got us."

"Awww… my head's killing me."

"Please, Jim, stop being such a sissy and toughen up. We need to get out of here."  
"How, exactly, Lois? Last time I checked, you're not Ultra-Woman, and I'm not Elastic Lad."  
"Elastic Lad?"  
"I had to come up with something."

"Riiiight. So, this is the plan. As soon as the Cyborg gets out of here, we get the hell out of here."

"I have a better idea-" Jimmy said, smiling "- I can use my signal watch."

"And what? Call Underdog? Jimmy, Superman is missing."

"Yes, but we are near a city full of heroes, they may get it, one way or another and come and check it out… it's a long shot, but it's still worth a try."

"And here I was thinking that you had more freckles than brain cells! Do it, now."

Jimmy hit the button on his signal \S/-themed watch. It sent an ultrasonic signal that only one being with less than four legs could hear: Superman. Unfortunately, he was unavailable.

The singal travelled through all the American continent… it passed through Kansas… then Delaware, went inside Metropolis, and obviously inside Hamilton's lab.

In there, a massive jolt of raw solar energy was practically cooking Clark Kent. This time, though, it wasn't hurting. His eyes had a faint, red tint. Then, he felt it. A high-pitched noise when straight to his brain.

"_I'm back!"_

Kal-El stood up, breaking the ropes that were holding him on the gurney. He looked at Hamilton and grinned. Before Hamilton could even ask, he was gone in a blur.

Superman was back.

**Chapter IIX**

The blur that came out of Hamilton's window crossed the sky and it flew right into the Kent's window.

"_Phew… that took me long enough."_

Clark went directly to his bedroom, and took the suit out of the secret drawer. He held it for a moment, staring at the emblem on its chest. Superman. That's what she called him the first time they met. He was wearing a black t-shirt and had just saved a space shuttle. And, he had foiled Luthor's plans in the process. When he was revealed to the world, Pa and Ma came up with the idea of the double identity, and that's how Superman was born. Using the name Lane had given him, Clark and Jonathan came up with the design for the chest and the cape, based on the "S" letter of the kryptonian alphabet and an old shop-class project of Clark's.

Clark stood there for a second, smiled, and put those blue tights on in the blink of an eye. He flew out the window… turning in the air, going up and down, smiling, with his arms and his hands open. The cape was moving all around, as Clark went up above the clouds and just stood there, floating. Letting the sun soak him completely. He tried to break the sound barrier, but strangely enough, he couldn't. His powers were back, but their levels were amazingly low.

Then he remembered: Jimmy's signal watch. What if they were really in trouble? Maybe he had activated it accidentally, since they knew Superman wasn't available (specially Lois), but what if something had happened to them? He couldn't just stay there and wonder. Before wasting any more time, Superman flew in Coast City's direction.

"It's gonna take me a while to get there, but if I fly high enough, the sunlight might help a little." He thought.

Clark witnessed how an airplane passed him by, at almost twice his speed. It wasn't looking good at all, but at least he was faster than their helicopter. It shouldn't take him more than a couple of hours to get there this way.

◊◊◊

Over at Galaxy Communications, Morgan Edge was starting to get Intergang back on its feet. He had already contacted his old "partners" and they were arriving any minute. He sat there, thinking about what he was going to tell them, exactly. The most important underworld crime lords were supposed to meet with him, and he was going to buy them off.

Edge wasn't a brave man, he only dared to do this task because he was backed up by Lex Luthor, the 3rd richest man on Earth, and probably the most evil one. He had given his secretary and the rest of the staff the day off, so he had the entire building to himself, and his guests.

One by one, all of the mob bosses arrived at Galaxy Communications, and were inside Edge's Conference Room, waiting for him.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen. For those of you who have never seen me before, I am Morgan Edge. I once was the head of Intergang, an organization that had absolute control of Metropolis' organized crime. Now, after Superman's recent dissapeareance, Intergang will come back to life. Without Metropolis' guardian angel, there's nothing that can stop us from becoming the world's greatest crime organization. Now, in order to achieve this, I will need you to let us take control of your current activities, and you'll be generously repaid. Of course, you will keep working exactly like you've been doing so far, but fifty percent of your incomings will be given to us, in exchange, we let you stay in business. Before anyone says anything, you have a briefcase with a certain amount of money next to your seats. If you find this offer good enough for you, press the green button on your seat. If you don't, press the red one. If anything happens to me, by the way, this entire office will blow up, leaving nothing of any of you. And I am not bluffing, gentlemen."

A tall, dark man who was sitting five seats away from Edge, was the first one to open the briefcase, and count the money inside. He looked at Edge, smiled faintly, and pushed the red button. A jolt of electricy came out of the chair, and fried the individual right there. Edge wasn't fooling around.

"Oh, and in case you want to stand up and leave, we have some snipers surrounding the building. I believe you have no choice but to give in."

◊◊◊

Inside the Pentagon, in the Applied Sciences department, Sergeant Ordway was going over some reports, when…

"Lieutenant, the perimeter's been breached, the whole building is compromised!"

"What?! What happened?"

"An intruder, sir. Our people are doing the best they can, but they can't stop him, and he's coming our way!"

The Cyborg tore down a three-inch wall of reinforced steel, and grabbed Ordway by the neck. He scanned his eye, and copied it into his cybernetic eyeball. The soldiers behind him were shooting at him, with all they had, but Henshaw didn't even feel it.

He stood right next to the main vault, and used the eye scanner to access it.

Inside, all the military prototypes were ready to be tested, but he had them first. Henshaw closed the vault door, and locked himself in there. He started to upgrade his armor using the prototypes, improving his own body until almost perfection. The best military technology in the world, and now one of the worst possible hands had gotten ahold of it.

After several minutes, the vault door went flying, crushing some of the soldiers that were waiting for him. The Cyborg stepped out of it, looking completely renewed and his mechanical side didn't look "mechanical" at all anymore. He looked like right out of a sci-fi movie.

Henshaw broke out of the Pentagon and headed back to Coast City, where he had his hostages waiting for him.

◊◊◊

"It didn't work, huh?" Jimmy said, loweing his head.

"Don't give up just yet, Jim."

"What are we going to do? Without Superman, nobody is going to be able to stop the Cyborg, and he's going to destroy the Earth!"

"I wouldn't worry about it, Jim. Unfortunately, I don't think we are going to be here to see that happening."

Lois looked at Jimmy and sighed. Why hadn't she just listened to Clark back at The Planet? He was right, it was too dangerous, and now she was in the middle of it, and he wasn't there to rescue her, like the countless times it had happened in the past.

"Lois… I've been meaning to ask you… do you know what happened to Superman? I know both you and Clark are friends with him, so if he's still alive you would know, right?"

"Yes, I know what happened to him, Jim. He survived the Metallo/Parasite strike, but it took away his powers, he's been trying to get them back ever since, but there's no luck."

"But then, if Superman is alive, there's still hope! Cheer up, Lois, Superman always finds a way!"

She sat there, and smiled. Jimmy was right. Clark would come through, but how? He was powerless. But then again, he had been dead before, and he came back from that, too.

"Jimmy, what time is it?"

"It's… oh, great, I forgot to turn the darn signal off!"

"I'm sure all the dogs in the area are really happy." She said, jokingly.

Suddenly, one of the windows of the warehouse shattered, and a red and blue streak passed through it.

"I don't know about the dogs, but I'm glad you did, Jimmy."

Superman had arrived.

**Chapter IX**

"Cl- Superman! Thank God you're here!"

"See, Lois? I told you he'd find a way!"

Superman grinned.

"What happened?"

"Henshaw." Lois said.

"Okay, I need to get you both out of here, then I'll handle Henshaw."

Clark grabbed what was left of the chopper, and lifted it over his head.

"NNggh!"

He hurled the chopper against the wall, leaving an enormous hole. He was sweating and trying to catch his breath.

"Superman, are you okay?"

"Yes, Lois… I just need time to recharge, that's all. I'll take you both to Metropolis now, and then I'll deal with Henshaw."

Suddenly, a flash of light blinded them, and Superman found himself in front of the Cyborg.

"H-How did you do that?"  
"Teleporting. Courtesy of the Pentagon."

Clark opened his eyes widely. He realized what Henshaw had done, and how hard it'd be to stop him.

"Lois, Jimmy, get out of here. He won't chase you, it's me he's after."

"But Superman-"

"Now, Lois."

She nodded, and grabbed Jimmy by the wrist. They both ran out of there, and hid in an old bus shelter nearby.

"Now, kryptonian, it's time for you to-"

BAM! Clark punched the Cyborg in the jaw, and kept hitting him as fast as he could. Henshaw took the beating, but his body didn't seem damaged at all. Superman flew a few inches up, and then tackled Henshaw, buring him into the ground. His fists were bleeding, but he couldn't stop. He had to take him out fast and strong.

When Henshaw came out of his hole, Clark was waiting for him, and punched him once again, sending him out of the building.

"We need to take this outside, where at least I can get some sunlight," he thought.

The Cyborg was laying on the ground, when Superman came out of the warehouse. He shook his head, and smiled at him.

"It's that all you got, kryptonian? I remember that teenager clone of yours hitting harder."

Henshaw pointed at the Man of Steel, and his finger twisted, becoming something that resembled a gun. Before he even realized, Clark was being hit with a poweful beam, right in the middle of his chest. The part of the suit were the beam had hit was gone, and instead there was this big, bleeding burn. Superman coughed, and looked at Henshaw. He started hovering, and then went up, up, and away.

"You're not getting off that easily, alien!"

The Cyborg went after him, and caught up almost inmediately. He grabbed Superman by the neck and started choking him.

"You know, I've been dreaming about this for too long, but it's just too easy. My scanners are telling me that your power levels are below 23, and that's a joke. I can't kill you like that, not after all I've been through to see you die."

Henshaw let go off Clark, and wrapped him inside an energy bubble. He hovered a few feet away from there, and then, his arm started to glow, and became energy. He went next to Superman, who was barely conscious, and put his fist through his abdomen. Clark found himself surrounded by a glowing, red aura, and felt like he had been set on fire. He couldn't even scream.

Henshaw took his arm out of Superman's body, and all the glowing stopped. Suddenly, Kal shook his head, and looked up to the Cyborg.

"W-Why?"

"So no one can say I cheated."

Henshaw then swung at Clark, but he dodged it, and swung back. Henshaw's jaw went flying through the air. Then, a silver, metallic goo came out of the Cyborg's body, and the the jaw regenerated.

"That's more like it." He said, grinning.

The two of them started struggling, but it was too fast for the human eye. Whatever damage Superman could inflict in the Cyborg, it'd rapidly disappear.

"_Instant healing__. Cute. What next, claws?"_

Superman used his arctic breath, freezing Henshaw. He grabbed him before it could hit the ground, and flew up. When they left the atmosphere, the ice started cracking, and the Cyborg broke free. He quickly grabbed Superman by the waist, and flew downwards, aiming at the Earth.

From the old bus shelter, Lois and Jimmy could see a ball of fire falling to the ground, at an amazing speed. A split second before they hit the ground, Superman turned rapidly, and now Henshaw had his back against the floor.

The sound of the explotion was deafening. When the smoke cleared out, all that could be seen was a motionless Superman, laying in the middle of an enormous crater. He slightly opened his eyes, and scanned the area with his X-ray vision, without moving. Nothing. Henshaw was apparently gone.

Clark stood up, and rubbed the back of his head while looking at his torn suit.

_"Aw, dang… Ma had just made this suit for me."_

Then, he remembered. Lois and Jimmy. He frowned and supersped out of there. He was back at 100, so he got to them in a heartbeat.

Lois was sitting on the floor, holding Jimmy's head, who was unconscious.

"Lois, are you okay?"

"I've been better… what about you? You were powerless, then you showed up, but incredibly weak…"

"So, you noticed, huh?"

"Clark, you could barely lift that chopper. I mean, back when we first met, well, we first met with you in the suit, you effortlessly lifted one of those with one hand… Never mind. What happened to Henshaw?"

"He's gone, I think. I couldn't find him."

Clark stood there, scanning the area with his X-ray and telescopic vision. He then dissapeared, and got back in no time, but he was carrying an old, wrecked car.

"Okay, get Jimmy in, and I'll take you both to Metropolis."

Lois grabbed Jimmy and put him in the backseat, then, she sat down on the driver's seat.

"We're ready, hon."

Clark lifted the car, and before he could take off, the floor beneath him cracked, and a dark figure bursted out.

"You're not going anywhere, alien. Time for Round 2."

**Chapter X****I**

Clark put the car down, and gave it a slight push. It dragged for almost a mile, until it stopped.

"_Nnngh… that was not subtle at all, Smallville."_ Lois thought

Henshaw attacked first. He struck Superman on the chest, and then started to punch him repeatedly. His fists were breaking and regenerating with every blow. Finally, he hit Clark with his head, and he went flying skywards.

"_The wind… it feels nice" _-he thought- _"wait… it's not the wind…"_

Clark then realized that he had passed out from that last punch, and he was still on the air due to the force of the impact. He stopped in mid-air, and shook his head. His jaw clenched. His eyes had a faint red tint, rarely seen. It was the middle of the desert, with no one around, and his seemingly unbeatable foe standing a few miles away from there. He supersped away, causing a sonic boom, without any hesitations.

Henshaw saw him coming, but could do nothing. Superman tackled him into the floor, creating a crater the size of a small island. He rapidly got up and stood there, with his cape flowing to the wind. Henshaw was laying on the floor, split by the waist in two. Almost instantly, those two halves merged, and he was again good as new. The Cyborg stood in front of Superman, and looked at him.

"Nice one, alien. But not enough."

Superman frowned. He looked down to his closed fist, and then looked back up at the Cyborg.

"I… feel like I live in a world made of cardboard - always taking constant care not to break something. To break someone. Never allowing myself to lose control, even for a moment, or someone could die."

He punched Cyborg, ripping his jaw off.

"But you can take it - can't you, big man? What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose... and show you just how powerful I really am."

Superman grabbed Henshaw by his right foot and started spinning, until he threw him up in the air. Faster than a speeding bullet, he caught up, and planted a left uppercut to where his ribs where supposed to be. Henshaw twisted in the air, in complete agony, but he couldn't fight back. Superman was just too fast for him.

Had they been in the city, every single window in a five block radius would be shattering due to the impressive force of the punches. Clark just kept on hitting him. His fists were actually bruised, but he kept going. At the same time, he focused his heat vision at Henshaw's main circuitry, in his chest, melting it.

Suddenly, he stopped. The Cyborg was out, and he started falling to the floor. Before he could hit the ground, Clark caught him, and held him by the neck. Taking a deep breathe, he froze his mechanical foe, and then threw a punch to the middle of the ice block, shattering it.

He knew that the only way he could stop Henshaw was by storing his consciousness somewhere else, and that could only be achieved by detroying his body completely. The down side was, he didn't know where that consciousness would be transferred.

"I think I'll have to take my chances. I can't let him regrow this body, it's too dangerous. I will have to deal with him later, but at least he won't be as powerful. Hopefully."

Hank Henshaw was laying still. He couldn't move, he couldn't even think. His new, improved body was half melted down, and the other half was just useless pieces of metal, barely holding together. He opened his organic eye, only to see Superman standing in front of him.

"A-alien… you… h-haven't…w-"

He closed his eye again.

"Phew… that was close" Clark said, relieved.

He grabbed Henshaw by the shoulder, and threw him up. When he reached a safe altitude, he let his heat vision at full blast, and disintegrated the cybernetic body.

He tuned all of his super-senses, but he couldn't "see" where Henshaw's consciousness went.

"_Time to go get Lois, and go back home."_ he thought.

Almost a mile away from there, Lois was completely desperate. She didn't know what to do. The car wasn't working, Jimmy was still out, and Clark was out fighting the Cyborg. She knew he could take care of himself, but she still worried a lot. She kept thinking how he could die, or how Henshaw could have found a way to strip him of his powers again. Lois sat down next to the car, and covered her eyes with her hands.

"You know… we're a little to grown up for hide and seek."

"Clark!!" she jumped directly into his arms.

"Not so loud, honey."

"Sorry, I'm just so glad to see you… what happened to Henshaw."

"I destroyed his body, but we both know he's coming back, sooner or later."

"Let's hope later, then. So, are we going back home, or are we moving to the desert?" she said, smiling.

"Ha. Ha. Really funny, Miss Lane. Come on, get in the car, we're leaving."

Lois got into the wrecked car, and just leaned back. Jimmy was still on the backseat, unconcsious.

"Superman?"

"Yes?"

"You did X-Ray Jimmy, right?"

"Mm-hm. He's okay. Don't worry."

"Okay."

Clark lifted the car, and flew up, up, and away into the sunrise. Next stop: Metropolis. _Home._


End file.
